Heating system.



PATBNTBD MAR. 19, 1907.

R. L. GIPPORD.

HEATING SYSTEM.

APPLICATION FILED 0012.11. 1905.v

50 /0 oeri. G9552@ v 10.847,934. Y PATBNTED MAR.19, 1907.

R. L. GIFPORD. HEATING SYSTEM.

APPLIdATIoN FILED ooT.11. 1905.

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To all whom/it may concern,.-

UNITED VSTATES PATENT OFFICE.'

ROBERT L. GIEEORD,OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR, BY DIRECT AND MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, To ILLINOIS ENGINEERING COMPANY, OE CIII- CAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

HEATING, SYSTEM.

Beit known-that I, ROBERT L. GIEIORD, a citizen ofthe United States, residingA at Chicago, lin the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a certain new andfuse-` ful Improvement in Heating "Systems, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to heating systems,

' and particularly to exhaust heating systems where exhaust-Steam from an engine or other steam-actuated machine is used at as low pressure as will give proper circulation.

The object of my invention is to provide a Steam-heating System of the general class described in which `a thorough circulation through all `of the radiators, coils, or other Steam-heating units is insured, with a minimum of expense in installing the system and a minimum of expense in takingcare of it and keeping it in operative condition.

In Systems now in general use it is the practice to connect to the return end of each radiator or other steam-radiating unit a vacuum-valve and to connect the lopposite end of each of` these valves to a dpipe in which a partial vacuum is maintaine by vacuumvpumps or equivalent mechanism. These vacuum-valves are attached to the opposite ends of the radiators or other radiating units from where the steam is admitted to such radiators, with the result that the partial vacuum in the pipe to which the vacuumvalves are connected, usually called the return-pipe, causes the air and water of condensation in the particular. radiator to which a particular valve is attached 1to flow through that valve into the return-pipe and thence under the action of the exhaustump or equivalent mechanism to flow out o the system. Valves embodying mechanism ca able of accomplishing all that is require of theseJ valves are quite complicated, and they are easily put out of adjustment by the scale and grease present in a heating system. Where from one thousand Vto .two thousand five hundred of such devices are installed in a single heating system, as is frequently the case in modern large oiice-buildin'gs, it becomes almost impossible to keep lsuch valves working in proper condition, and this can only be done by employing a force of inspectors who constantly clean out and adjust the various valves in the System.

.Patented lMarch 19, 1907.

invention consists in the mechanism by whlch I do away with all of the vacuumvalves at the radiators and allow the water of condensation to-iiow directly through a re Stricted opening in the radiators into thereturn-pipe and thence to the lower portion thereof,l thereby as it flows converting the return-pipe intoa Sprengel air-pump tube with its vacuum extending to all of the radiators attached to the return-pipe, with the result that the water of condensation iiowing through this return-pipe performs all of the heretofore describe such system.

My invention also consists in details for making this system operative which will be hereafter described and claimed as the'specification proceeds.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a sectional view through the iioors of the building having mechanism of 4my invention a lied thereto, showing such mechanism in side elevation. Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional detail view-of the return'check-valve connected between each radiator and the return-pipe. Fig. 3 isl a Sectional detail view of an auto ,matic vacuum-trap installed at the bottom of the return-pipe. l

The detailsy of this device are shown, described, and claimed in United States Patents Nos. 691,796 and 787,094.

' Referring now to the drawings, numerals 10 to 18, inclusive, indicate successive oors of the building in which my system of heating is installed. On each floor I place one or more radiators 20, 'having their supply end connected to a steam-Supply pipe l21 1n the usual. manner.l I prefer to install these radiators sothat so far as possible correspondthe opposite end of eachv radiator 20 from A that at which the steam-supply pipe 21 is connected I secure a tailpiece 23 of ordifunc'tions desired in f IOO nary construction and connect to it b a v union 24 a valve`25', such as is shown in ig.

2. This valve .25 has a restricted orifice 27,l

entering the radiator through the tailpiece 23, the orifice being proportioned to the size of the radiator to which the particular valve of vulcanized rubber,'to render the action of This ball 30 rests upon the-valve noiseless.

a ledge 3l and is adapted to roll back and forward across the chamber 29 of the Valve l to close the oriice 27 when the ball is in thej full-line position of 2 and to leave it open when the ball is inthe dotted-line position of Fig. 2. The chamber 29 ofthe valve has a downwardly-extending opening" 32, not closed by the ball 30,*entering the-'piy e 33. The opposite end of teach pipe 33 is l'-5 35, extending from topto'bot-torn of the building,and preferably in as near a vertical line as possible, though it may be inclined or odset somewhat,eithcr in whole or in part, Without departing from my invention.

Attached to the bottom-of each return-pipe '3"5, by" means ofa pipe 37, preferably controlled by a hand-valve 38 or other suitable means, is an automatic vacuum-trap 4G, `such asis shown in Fig. 3. 'This trap consists of the exterior casing, as shown, having an entrance-orifice 42, connected with the pipe 37, and an exit-orifice pipe 43, connected with the pipe 4s. Within the casing oi this trap 4G is afloat 46,' adapted to normally rest upon the upper end 47 of the orifice-pipe 43 in an inclined manner to control the entrance to said pipe, as will more fully appear from an inspection oi the patents heretofore mentioned. The result of this construction is that When there is no liquid in the trap 4G the entrance 47 of the orifice-pipe i3 will be partiallyT open, so that air, gas, or liquid may iow vfrom the interior 43 of the i3 into the pipe 4e, and that as Water cornes into the interior 48 of the trap et) it causes the oat 46 to lift up clear oi the-entrance 47 et" the oriiceepipe e3, and thereby allow the Water andentrained air` to freely ioW through the orice i2 andthe interior 48 out or" the orifice-pipe 43. When-now the supply of' Water diminishes to a point below the line at which a sucient quantity is present to lift the oat, the oatsettles upon the opening 47, and therebychecks the llevar of Water through the device, and thereby constitutes awater seal against the flow ofsteam through.

' building or plant are connected to one come 'rnon exhaust-pump or equivalent mechanism. in the drawing l have shown a pipe Arectly connected :to a `vertical return-pipe trap 40 through the entrance i7 of the orice i attach, beyond the ligure,

lthe trap water will accumulate connection 49, having in itahand-valve 48,

' connecting the return-pipe 35 to the pipe 45.

This is simply a by-pass which can be used in i an ernergencyto allow the ycontents of the return-pipe to pass directly into the pipe 45 Without goin through the trap 40. l have also shown the main steam-supply pipe 2l 'connected to the return-pipe 35 by a pipe 50. This is to allow anycondensation occurring in the steam-supply pipe to settle into this 'Ll-shaped pipe 50, which when full of water up to the elbows 5l or thereabout forms a Water seal through which low-pressure steam cannot escape While the water passes over into the-trap 40.

Assuming y.now that the entire system shown in Fig. l is dry, l start the exhaustpurnp, heretofore described, which produces a vacuum in each pipe 45. This vacuum extends through the trap 40 into the return.

pipe 35, thence through oriices 27 into each radiator, thereby producing a partial vacuum in each radiator. l' now turn on steam to the supply-pipes 2l, `Which under the action of the' vacuum in each radiator iloW-s into such radiators. As soon as this occurs the cold air on the outside of the radiators causes the steam in them tev beginA to condense, Which causes Water of' condensation to form and loW, under the action of the "vac-` num heretofore described, produced by the vacuum-pump, from the valves f i thence through said valves and pipes 33 into the return-pipe 35. 1 As soon as Water thus 4begins` to iiow from the radiators attached to a particular return-pipe the small quantities ol Water flowing from each oit the radiators corne together at some `point or points in the pipe, thereby `creating a more or less solid column, piston, or plusr of substantially vertically-alling Water, which as it tells yacts es a Sprengel air-pump and creates a vacuum above it in the return-pipe. "lliis vacuum serves in each radiator the function hereto-- ilore performed by the vacuum produced by i vacuum-pump may he Wholly discontinneff` .fw

as long as the system remains in continuouf; operation. Vhen the device is operating; in this Way Without the aio oi a inecjaaiiicallyV i manipulated air-pump, (not showin) the outlet-pipe from the trap is in open commu nication with the atmosphere, :uw owing: to the extern-al air-pressure thus pitted i. [.lie loup-.r portion of the pipe 'line i' zit of tn'- efective Water column thus iii. 1.5mm. in sai..

IOC

to prevent such column of water entering the' lowest radiator or radiators of'the system,

-'the system to the return-pipe 35, this effective water column is not of a sufficlentheight to cause any inconvenience'in construction.

As the column, piston, or plug of falling water heretofore described reaches 'the'bottom of the return-pipe 35, in which it is formed, it enters the trap 40 and automatic-- ally passes through it into the pipe and thence out of the system, the trap 40 operating in the manner described to regulate the iiow of water through it/and maintain enough water in the return-pipe to which it isv attached below the lowest radiator in order to maintain a -waterseal7 so that the returnpipe will continue to act as a Sprengel airpum in the manner described. As long as the ottom of the return-pipe is thus kept sealed and the system remains in operationthat is, steam continues to be supplied in the supply-pipe-the*return-pipe will continue to i act as a Sprengel air-pump in the manner described, whereas were the trap 40 or equivalent mechanism omitted the Water would run out of the return-pipe, thereby destroying the vacuum in the tube and making a continuous use of an exhaust-pump a necessity.

in practice i prefer to run the exhaust--V pump continuously, but only for the purpose of creating a vacuum in the pipe 44 up to the trap, so as to insure immediate and proper .flow of water from the return-pipe throu h the trap 40, as described. This permits't e use of a relatively small pump. compared to the pumps necessary in other systems heretoforel described. thereby impairing the working of the system, I

Having thus described my invention, what ters Patent, is-

l 1. A heating system'. comprising one or more radiators or units of radiation, means for supplying steam to said radiatoror radiators, a return-pipe, having its upper portion connected to said radiator or. -radiators through restricted, normally open orifices, and its lower end extending below said radiator or the lowest of said radiators, of such interior diameter that the water of condensation, from Athe radiator or radiators, falling therein forms one or more pistons lof a pump, and mechanism adapted to maintain awater seal in the lower portion of said return-pipe for the purposes set forth.

f 2. A heating system comprising one or more radiators or units of radiation, means for supplying steam to said radiator or radiators, .a returnipe, having its upper part connected to saidp radiator or radiators through restricted, normally open oriiices, and its IoW'er end extending below said radiator or the lowest of said radiators, of such interior diameter that the water Iof condensation, from the radiator or radiators, falling` therein forms one or more pistons of a pump, mechanism adapted `to maintain a water seal in the lower portion of said return-pi e and an automatic check-valve between eac radiator and the return-pipe adapted to prevent the passage of the contents of said returnipe into the radiator for the purposes set forth.-

'I claim as new, and desire to secure'by Let- In witness whereof iihave hereunto subscribed my name in the presence of two wit- 

